California

In spring 2012, the Colorado Ballet presented a program called "Tribute" with choreography by three female choreographers (Emery LeCrone, Jodie Gates, Amie Seiwart), in honor of the two women who founded the company, Lillian Covillo and Freidann Parker: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_20290901/review-from-colorado-ballet-three-new-dances-knowing Gates is the new director of the USC Kaufman School of Dance: http://kaufman.usc.edu/

Kyle Abrahams was just interviewed by Chris Hayes on "All In with Chris Hayes" on MSNBC. I believe that show will be rebroadcast in a few hours. They include several clips of his dancers, along with discussion about how important the MacArthur money will be for the company.

I looked over the list quickly, but only noticed Julie Kent at ABT and Sonia Rodriguez at National Ballet of Canada. It's a pretty offensive list for us North Americans. I think we all understand that no publication, not even the NY Times, can afford to send critics to see everything. A list of critics divided by continent, perhaps, could have selected honorees from among the companies they could realistically see. And it's really odd that they didn't list the names of the critics somewhere. At ballet competitions, the names of the judges are known to everyone, aren't they?

I wish they had posted the list of fourty (sic) critics who came up with that list. It has a very heavy European slant. Not a single dancer from NYCB?

Too early...I have a typo in the heading. It should be: "MacArthur" -- can an administrator fix that? Thanks!

Two choreographers are among the recipients this year: Alexei Ratmansky & Kyle Abraham: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/arts/macarthur-genius-award-winners-named.html?hp&_r=0 For several winners, including Abraham, the award will give them the financial stability to focus on their work for the next several years. This article says nothing about Ratmansky's plans and, with his numerous worldwide commissions, financial stability doesn't seem to be an issue for him. So it will be very, very interesting to see what his plans are. He can continue to focus on choreography, rather than directing a company, but that seems to be what he was going to do anyway.

Interesting tidbit in that caption: they were the first Soviet dancers "allowed permission by their government to visit America." That makes me wonder which other dancers left the Soviet Union without permission between 1922 and 1934 - the earliest defectors?

A new Kickstarter project has just been announced to make a documentary on Misty Copeland: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/819201034/a-ballerinas-tale

NYCB just sent out some "flash footage" of Swan Lake with Mearns and Angle on opening night: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153259583265529&set=vb.112319735528&type=2&theater

I'm not sure if this is related to the archives mentioned in the previous message, but in July 2013, DTH got a $49,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to work on some preservation issues concerning their archives: The source document (listing all grants awarded by NEH in July 2013) is here: http://www.neh.gov/files/press-release/july2013statebystate.pdf

It's risky to try to identify people by race or ethnicity. The U.S. Census for the last several 10-year censuses has used self-reporting rather than having the census taker decide which race/ethnicity to count (as they used to do). Especially in major metropolitan areas, names, appearances, place of birth, etc. don't necessarily tell you anything. This is even more so now with increasing interracial marriage. I assume ABT has figured out how to handle this (probably some kind of self-identification). Promoting "diversity" is a good thing and I think most of us have a general sense of where we hope we are headed, even if we might disagree on precisely what that means. When I look at the rosters of several companies, I see a wide range of names, appearances, and skin tones, but we all hope it gets better.

If you search YouTube, she did Giselle with Mariinsky in 2010 with Sarafanov. Perhaps she's performed there in other roles or with other partners as well... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6gJFjwmjs

There are several full-length Giselles on YouTube: LaScala with Zakharova and Bolle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcmvncebpZM Nureyev & Seymour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ui2KPFm3t8 ABT (1969) with Fracci and Bruhn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbYlMnFgp3c Others (ABT-1977 & Bolshoi, e.g.) are posted in short Parts that add up to the entire thing. Of course, the visual quality on YouTube leaves a lot to be desired, but it's free...

If you have never seen Giselle before, YouTube is chock full of clips, some of the complete ballet. I don't know anybody who doesn't love Giselle.

I'm glad to see the reports others have posted about long-standing programs in Seattle and Boston. I should note that the Colorado Ballet has had something comparable in place for over 12 years: http://www.coloradoballet.org/education/vision The existence of these well-established programs (and I assume there are others that haven't been mentioned) might help explain the selection of cities for the ABT program: http://www.abt.org/education/projectplie/partnercompanies/ But ABT's choice of language was perhaps not as diplomatic as might have been hoped: By implication, other companies don't "embrace the goal of diversity"? No, others have already been quite active in embracing that goal. Still, as Sandik notes, anything that promotes ballet to diverse communities is a good thing and I'm glad to see the ABT program, especially the corporate sponsorship and the partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs.

I'm not sure a petition from a public discussion board is the most effective way to proceed. It might be helpful to simply post the full name and mailing address + e-mail of Mariinsky management so individuals reading this can make contact individually, as they wish. (Public addresses and e-mails only, of course.) I also wonder how much say the Kennedy Center management has on casting, although they probably assume it will sell out no matter what. Is it worth contacting Michael Kaiser? If so, individuals might send letters or e-mail, using the address on the Kennedy Center site.

Yes, but all we're seeing (at least on the ABT site) are principal roles. Has she ever done the lead in, say, T&V? She's one of several soloists just aching to get promoted.

Many of us commented on what a great job Calvin Royal did in the second cast of the new Ratmansky ballet Piano Concerto #1, partnering Christine Shevchenko (who also did a fabulous job, filling in for an injured Gilliam Murphy) in the 2013 Met season. Presumably, Ratmansky decides the casting for his new ballets. It would be such a sad and unfortunate result of this initiative if audience members start to think that the only (or primary) reason why somebody is being cast in an important role is to improve diversity for the new initiative.

ABT just sent out a Tweet about this. I see Dale has started a new thread, so people might want to discuss it there. AmericanBalletTheatr ‏@ABTBallet 4m ABT announces Project Plié, a nationwide initiative to increase racial & ethnic representation in ballet http://www.abt.org/projectplie #ProjectPlie

WSJ just sent out a story about the new initiative: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10014241278873392204579071071121764480.html Project Plie will promote diversity in ballet, featuring Misty Copeland. I'm really pleased to see them partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. My brother-in-law worked in related non-profit sectors much of his life and B&GC has a stellar reputation among the many groups working with underprivileged youth. Denzel Washington is one of their many "alumni."

Kickstarter just sent out the NYCO site by e-mail. Looks like they have a long way to go: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1551842735/the-peoples-opera-new-york-city-operas-2013-2014-s?ref=NewsSep1213&utm_campaign=Sep12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter (This reminds me of an old bumper sticker: "Wouldn't it be great if the schools had all the money they needed and the Defense Department had to hold bake sales?")

I can't find casting information on the Kennedy Center site. Where did you see this? http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSG

ABT sent out the same Tweet yesterday, but I ignored it. I'm hoping for several promotions in the ranks: @ABTBallet 21h Stay tuned for an exciting announcement from ABT later this week!

Thanks for the heads-up. It's open seating, but as of a few minutes ago, it says they only have 13% availability, so they must be getting close to their quota of seats. Here's the site - scroll down near the bottom: http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BOBSG Note that Alexandra Tomalonis also has an event, on January 25 before the opening. The link is on the same page.

This does not bode well for the Kennedy Center season in late January. Let's hope the KC management has some say about casting.